The Late Night SWOT Analysis (Part 2)

Scripture — Psalm 77:6-9 (NRSV)

I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:

Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
Has His favor ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah

Devotion

In the previous devotion we learned how Asaph learned a better approach to troubles in life. God can get you to face trouble by providing a better perspective; one where God’s omnipresent providence moves all things toward what is true, beneficial, or beautiful.

In 2022, researchers from Columbia & Rutgers University published work concerning thinking about memories. Two-hundred and ninety-seven participants were asked to recall positive aspects of a negative memory over months. The researchers observed that through these memory tasks, the participants were able to shift the focus of their negative experiences to more positive ones, and it led to beneficial changes. There is a right way and a wrong way to remember things. God helps us to redirect toward better questions and perspectives.

We can remember past metrics, failure, trauma, successes, or other people’s perspectives on those things also. Asaph chose to remember a song at night when he could not sleep. He meditated and his spirit pondered. A secular lens leaves no room to consider: perhaps God has something to say about my business plan, leadership structure, market strategy, etc. Perhaps God knows how to address the successes or struggles. It takes a meditative heart to ponder “What is God doing?” before “What are our strengths?”

The meditation led to a better perspective. And Asaph asked different questions:

Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
Has His favor ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?

The rhetorical approach to these questions would be to simply answer them—No, Yes, No….etc.—and then perhaps to track them over the next few quarters to analyze the trends. The heart of meditation is not our answer, but to meditate long enough until you recognize that you’re not the one who called the meeting. God is the strength, God can use our weakness, everything is an opportunity and the only threat is to forget God’s presence. I think rhetoric moves to real when there is a Selah (pause). The pause is where the questions become relevant and appropriate to every circumstance. And the answers are accurate when you are convinced that God is present.

Asaph’s psalm, his song for the director, Jeduthun, continues and his story is complete. But what about you? Are you asking the right questions? And if you have the right questions, do you have a Selah? Who else is in the meeting with you?

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Has God Forgotten to Be Gracious?